HORRIFIC crimes by their very nature generate outrage in the community.
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There is an eruption of anger as people are left wondering how such a shocking offence can be committed in their surrounds.
That fury can explode with an initial court appearance, if a suspect is promptly arrested, or it can peter out as the atrocity is overtaken by life continuing.
Rarely is there a fundamental long-term change generated in reaction to such wickedness.
But months after the deaths of Zoe Buttigieg, 11, in Wangaratta last October and Karen Chetcuti in Whorouly in January, a campaign for change is unstinting.
North East women Tania Maxwell and Carol Roadknight are persisting with their Enough is Enough campaign to have a sex offenders’ register established in Victoria.
They have held rallies and are collecting signatures on a petition for harsher sentences for recidivist violent and sexual offenders.
Now they have unveiled plans for a protest in Melbourne on the steps of Victoria’s Parliament House on October 23.
It is designed to ensure politicians hear the message on their doorstep and the event will feature Opposition police spokeman Edward O’Donohue and shadow attorney-general John Pesutto.
The rally also allows the Enough is Enough campaigners to broaden interest in their effort and harness fresh support.
Their highest-profile backer has been journalist-turned-senator Derryn Hinch, who spoke at a Wangaratta rally in March.
He will again be at their side in Melbourne, speaking out in favour of the register he has been seeking for years.
But while his backing, which he has voiced in the Senate, is appreciated by those driving the campaign, the reality is the law change would have to be enacted by the Victorian Parliament.
Therefore those most able to initiate change are Premier Daniel Andrews and Prevention of Family Violence Minister Fiona Richardson.
The latter met Enough is Enough campaigners in the middle of the year.
There is still room for much debate about how a sex offenders’ register would operate, but you have to admire the determination of Ms Maxwell and Ms Roadknight.
With the memory of Zoe Buttigieg and Karen Chetcuti guiding them they have shown that a campaign involves many battles.
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